Kyong Ae Kim (2015)

Artist StatementI am intrigued by the symbiotic relationships of ecology. Living creatures, while fragile and vulnerable, are constantly challenged by their surroundings to evolve and hybridize. My recent series of work, ‘Wildwood” creates forest-like landscapes that embed the energy, beauty, and mystery of nature. These works are created with an imaginary and futuristic sense that directs us to the responsibility of seeking a peaceful co-existence within our world.

My recent work, ‘Wildwood’, relies on my own methodology, complexity (the process) within simplicity (the final surface). Digital processes (photograph and digital processing) are interplayed with conventional artistic medium (painting, hand cutting, and drawing). Multiple images of trees are digitally manipulated for further transformation. Subsequently, the digital images are drawn (and layered) onto drafting film and transformed into multiple layers. I encapsulate many different elements to re-create the forest for the painting, ‘Out of the Blue’. For example, the organic structural images, the animal-like creatures, and the trees in the paintings are driven from my previous series of work. I oscillate between the virtual and physical steps to amplify the images. These stepwise processes are vital to precisely eliminate, build on, layer, simplify, and hybridize the forms to generate the complexity (the process) within simplicity (the final surface) in my work.